Has the bus got a puncture?

All the talk this weekend (and in truth for a couple of weeks) has been is Nigel Adkins, nice man that he is, up to the task of being a premiership manager?

The fact that Saints now have the unwanted record of conceding a record number of goals in the first 8 games of any premiership season, would suggest that the backroom staff are not.

Fans with all have different opinions, but it does seem Nigel has made some strange selections, and substitutions, and failed to get the defence organised.

That said, Adkins has a lot of credit in the bank with both the board and the fans, and although the clamour has increased after the woeful second half performance against West Ham, he should be safe for a few weeks yet.

We should remember after all, that just 2 seasons ago we were in League one. Our rise back to the premiership has probably happened too quickly, meaning that the playing staff, and background staff, have not had a chance to learn the important lesions of the championship, let alone the Premiership.

That said, Saints have spent a lot of money, I read a stat that said we were the 7th biggest spenders in Europe before the transfer window closed. Saints spent £18 on 2 players which is mega money when you consider that our previous record was £4 million.

But it seems to me the fault isn’t all just Nigel Adkins, but also down to whoever heads the transfer policy. Why when everyone knew we needed to improve the defence, to survive in the premiership was so much time, effort and money spent bringing in more forward playing players, when scoring goals had not been a problem for Saints and so little in signing the experienced defenders we so obviously needed.

It seems the club are blindly pursuing a policy of playing a certain formation, when we don’t have the players at the club to play it. I am just not sure whether this is Adkins decision or the clubs. But whoever is responsible, needs to have a re-think in the short term or relegation is likely to follow.